1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shielding apparatus for radioactive materials. In particular, the invention relates to shielding apparatus utilized with radioaerosol delivery systems in nuclear medicine.
2. State of the Art
Lung ventilation scanning using radiolabeled aerosols has been studied for about the last 20 years. However, until recently when improved aerosol generating devices have become more generally available, practical applications of such methods have been extremely limited. One particularly useful aerosol generating system is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,387 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,033, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The nebulizer described in those patents has been found to be particularly useful in generating aerosols having a particle size and particle size distribution to make lung scanning a useful diagnostic tool. Relatively recent articles describing lung scanning methodology utilizing radioactive aerosols can be found at: Radiology, 131:256-258, April 1979; Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, Volume X, No. 3 (July), 1980, pp. 243-251; and The Journal of Nuclear Biology and Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1975, pp. 112-120.
Because of the increased interest in using radioaerosols for diagnostic imaging, there is a need for a compact and practical apparatus for delivering such radioaerosols to a patient. The invention described herein is considered to satisfy such a need.